Enable the Status Icons to Be Further Informed About What's Backed Up

Attention Windows users, have you tried Mozy's Icon Overlays to keep track of what is backed up? If you haven't, or you're not even sure what the Icon Overlay is, read on and I'll explain all about it...

What is the Icon Overlay?

The Icon Overlay is a system that puts little icons on the files in Windows File Explorer in order to keep you informed of what is backed up. When you have the icons enabled, they'll only show on the files you have selected for backup in Mozy, and they'll show a green check mark, yellow arrow, or a red exclamation point to help keep you informed of the status of that file in regards to your Mozy backup.

How to Enable the Icon Overlay

The Icon Overlay is currently only available to Windows users, and it can be enabled by following these steps:

Right-click on the Mozy icon in the System Tray (down by the time and date)

Select Settings > More Settings from the pop-up menu

Select Options tab from the large tabs along the top

Go into the General tab under Options

Check the box for "Show backup status icon on files"

Click OK to save your settings

Some Windows configurations may require a reboot after enabling these settings, but most will show the icon overlays as soon as the next backup runs successfully. You may want to start a manual backup in order to update the icon overlays.

To do so, follow these steps:

Right-click on the Mozy icon in the System Tray (down by the time and date)

Select Status from the pop-up menu

On the Status window, click Start Backup

What the Status Icons Mean

Indicates the file was successfully backed up and is up-to-date

Indicates the file was previously successfully backed up, but has new updates to be uploaded during the next backup

Indicates a failure with the file during the last attempt to back it up, and that it is not properly uploaded

What to Do if the Status Icons Aren't Showing

If you have the Status Icons enabled, but they're not showing on your files, the most likely cause is that another Icon Overlay (from a different program) is taking precedence in your system so Mozy's are not being allowed to show up.

How to Check for Other Icon Overlays

To check and see what other Icon Overlays may be taking precedence, follow these steps:

Type regedit in your Windows/Cortana Search/Run field

Allow it to populate above, and right-click on Registry Editor from the pop-up menu and select Run as Administrator

In the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers

From here you can see what Overlays have priority over Mozy by the order they are in. Windows can only show a limited number of Overlay Icons (15 total, 11 after what Windows uses).

If you need help with your Icon Overlay, or anything else related to Mozy, please feel free to reach out to Support for assistance.